At the recent annual meeting of the National Conference of Charities, Mr. Frederick L. Hoffman made some statements which are of interest to physicians. Mr. Hoffman is the statistician of a well-known life insurance company which makes a specialty of what is called industrial business, i. e., insuring working people and children for small amounts. His paper was entitled, "Medical and Social Aspects of the Child Labor Question." His first point is the lack of definite, trustworthy statistical evidence as to the effect of early labor on the physical and mental development of children, yet, as he reminds us, it is entirely practicable to obtain such evidence, and he urges that the whole matter be made the subject of a governmental inquiry. He says:
The available statistical evidence, while not as complete as would be desirable, seems to prove conclusively that occupations with a trade life commencing very early, such